Other hobbies/Obsessions?

OldBean wrote: »

Starting small, my wife and I have been doing some smaller bits - the Waterford Greenway is great, and we're hoping to the Royal Canal from Maynooth to the Shannon soon.

Myself and a friend did Mulligar to Longford town a couple of weeks ago along the canal en-route to Leitrim town. Nice ride of about 60kms. Only thing to watch out for is to keep to the greenway side which switches occasionally. If in doubt follow the yellow arrows.
Doing it from Maynooth adds quite a bit.
We've done the reverse Mullingar to Dublin once but as you probably know there are a couple of sections just before Dublin that are pretty scary and not advised for cycling.

OldBean

Yeah, Deep Sinking is fascinating, and quite enjoyable technically on a bike, espec with the drop on your right, but I don't want to have anyone coming towards me, nevermind a trailer attached! I believe there's a bridge over being worked on at the moment, likely summer next year before it's trail from the Liffey to the Shannon which should be beautiful!

These aren't cycling maps so strictly speaking I shouldn't be collecting them but they are Irish and the cover art (car passing signpost) is by Ellis Martin the best Ordnance Survey artist. These probably date from the 1920s and are based on the 1909-10 survey.

In researching online about cycling touring I came across an English guy who wrote eight travel books about his cycle tours in Europe during the 1930s. All these books are long out of print but one is available on Kindle.

This is the cover of his 1960 auto-biography.

Bernard Newman (1897-1968) served in WWI and afterwards went into the civil service. About 1930 he started writing travel books, books on espionage, spy fiction, detective stories and science fiction. On his second travel book he cycled round France following in the hoof-prints of Dumas' Three Musketeers and from then on kept to bicycle travel right up to the 1950s.

I've bought and read all his pre-WWII cycling books and find them interesting from several perspectives. First because they chronicle cycle tours between the wars, second because they give an insight into his attitude to the rise of Fascism and particularly Nazi-ism in Europe. He was certainly an admirer of certain aspects of German life during the 1930s although certainly not of the regime. He tended to under-estimate the threat and sought to underplay the anti-Semitic issue. He was also an accomplished lecturer and gave several hundred paid lectures per year to various social societies all over Britain. Often when asked about Germany and if people should travel there he encouraged people to visit it in the belief that tourism could prevent another war. He held this view right up till 1939.

His second cycle book was The Blue Danube where he cycled the length of the Danube river from its source in Germany. Along the way, while in Bavaria, he heard Hitler was going to be visiting a nearby town and diverted to see the event. Hitler gave a speech standing up in his car and alighting spotted Newman dressed in shorts and khaki shirt. Adolf sent over an aide to ask what type of uniform he was wearing and when the aide returned to inform the Fuhrer that he was an Englishman wearing cycle-touring gear he was called over and they spent a couple of minutes discussing 'short trousers'. In another of his books he mentions during the conversation that he was going to be travelling on through Austria Hitler became quite animated. Whether it was because it was where he was born or because he was dreaming of incorporating it into the Reich is not revealed.

Only one of his pre-war cycling books is easily available and that is Pedalling Poland which you can get in digital form on Kindle.

Baltic Roundabout was published in 1939 and is about a journey in 1938 that finishes in East Prussia and Danzig about the time of the Munich Crisis.
By the time he wrote it he had no doubts that war was coming.

IrishPlayer

Recently in Enniscorthy,visited the National 1798 Rebellion Centre,highly recommend a visit to it,while there saw this,not a cycling book but still pretty interesting,an Autographed book belonging to Rebel Colonel Thomas Cloney from 1832

Also spotted these in Enniscorthy castle

Some more pictures from the trip [Link]

IrishPlayer wrote: »

Recently in Enniscorthy,visited the National 1798 Rebellion Centre,highly recommend a visit to it,while there saw this,not a cycling book but still pretty interesting,an Autographed book belonging to Rebel Colonel Thomas Cloney from 1832

Thanks IP for that about Enniscorthy. The Irish Agricultural Museum in Johnstown Castle Co. Wexford is also very interesting and has some good bicycle exhibits including of course Pierces ones made in the county.
These are a couple of original photographs I have on my wall taken in Dublin around 1900.

The hand-written caption reads "Iron moulder Ross & Walpole 1900".
Ross & Walpole were situated on the North Quays docks in Dublin port and made many cast iron items for the railways, shipping companies and local councils.

This is a building, shown under construction c. 1904, that still stands at the bottom of Dawson Street in Dublin. The ground floor is now a Starbucks I think.

Panic Stations

Over the last year I've developed a love for Golf. Try to get out at least once or twice a week to play. I always think it's important to have some form of hobby that encourages you to get outside, get some exercise and socialize with people.

Been also looking to get back into cycling. Used to do mountain biking and loved it so would like to try revive that hobby if I can.

PC Gaming is another big passion of mine. Unfortunately I'm not the gamer I used to be in my college days and now work at a desk for 8 hours a day so the thought of spending more time sitting in front of a computer for another few hours at night time has become less appealing.

Always had a keen interest in cars and have recently gotten a nice car so that keeps me occupied on the weekends in terms of cleaning and polishing it. Also tend to follow the F1 too.

Watches is the latest obsession. I've always had an appreciation for nice watches but recently I've been getting way more into it than my wallet can allow. Have a few watches on my list to work towards.

Quite a few interests listed above so it's quite hard to fit them all in and currently building my own business is taking up a lot of time so I don't get to commit to all of them.

Occasionally it happens that you have a cross-over between two very different interests, this happened to me with cycling history and polar exploration.

Thomas Orde Lees was recruited by Ernest Shackleton to accompany the Endurance Trans-Antarctic Expedition that left the UK in 1914 just days after the outbreak of the Great War. Orde Lees (the name is sometimes hyphenated) was a physical training officer in the Royal Marines with some motor mechanical skill who it was hoped would help with the tractor-sledge on which supplies were to be carried.

There was another skill he had and that was as a trick-cyclist. During the last decade of the 19th century there had been a big increase in the number and range of people taking up cycling and along with the general interest there was also a craze for performing tricks on the new diamond-frame chain-driven cycles.

In September 1898 an article appeared in Harmsworth's Pictorial Journal titled 'The Cleverest Amateur Cyclist in the World, remarkable trick riding by a military officer' which featured Lieutenant Orde Lees riding his Rudge Whitworth bicycle.

When he shipped for the Antarctic he brought his bicycle with him and there are several accounts of him riding it on the ice when the Endurance was iced in. Ultimately the ship was crushed by the ice and his bicycle now lies at the bottom of the sea.

Orde lees served as the storekeeper during the subsequent journey that ended with the entire ship's complement reaching Elephant Island and during their stay there while Shackleton and five others sailed in a lifeboat to South Georgia to reach civilisation and ultimately rescue those remaining on the island.

Thomas Orde Lees kept a diary while on the expedition and this as well as other research provided the material for the above book which tells his life story including his role in developing parachute technology after service in the Royal Flying Corps where he was a baloonist.

For the moment I've stopped buying watches and returned to my real passion for cycling history and that to do with Ireland in particular.

So I bought this copy of The Irish Cyclist magazine from June 1910. I already have three copies from 1903, 1904 and 1936.

The Irish Cyclist was a weekly magazine that had originally been published in Tralee Co. Kerry in 1885 before it was bought out by its then editor R. J. Mecredy and moved to Dublin a year later. Mecredy later became interested in motoring and founded The Motor News. The Irish Cyclist continued to be published till WWII.

John O'Neill Ltd with their Lucania brand were probably the longest lasting Irish bicycle manufacturers surviving till 1926 with a factory in Camden Row where the frontage of which still stands.

Irish bicycle manufacturers always had to contend with strong competition from the large English companies like Rover, BSA, Raleigh and Rudge-Whitworth all of whom have full page advertisements in this issue of the magazine, whereas poor little John O'Neill can only afford a quarter page ad that emphasises its Irishness.

Another Irish bicycle manufacturer was Pearse's of Wexford whose main business was agricultural machinery but while they feature in earlier issues they are nowhere to be seen in this 1910 one.

banie01

I delved back into flight sims a couple of weeks ago, as mentioned in the chat thread.
Sweet Jesus, those lads are a dedicated bunch.

I picked up IL-2 1946 with some expansion packs and then remembered just how involved PC flight Sims are.
I dug out my old Thrustmaster hotas and started to fly!
Poorly!

Then I discovered the modding community for IL-2 is still very, very active!
2 mods, in particular, BAT 4.0 and 4.1, add so much to the game 100's of planes, vehicles and scenarios.
I am flying aircraft from 1906 right up to the f18c!

Badly still :P but I'm persevering at the slog. My gunnery is good, but I tend to ignore the stall warnings and, landing is still tricky.

Then, the boy and I have decided to undertake a redecoration of the mancave.
Currently, a work in progress, but everything is coming together quite nicely, I may even throw up a photo or 2 over the weekend

That all said...
I'm meant to be doing mid-terms, and my distracted brain is only seeking ways to avoid writing!

banie01

Lots of stuff moved and walls needed filling, sanding and repainting afterwards.
2 walls finished and the plan is to "zone" the walls.
1st wall is some poster displays I made using foldouts from the World Aircraft Information Files along with a model of each plane.
2nd is a grouping of the best of our Marvel and 2000ad signed editions and some custom art along with a Brian Bolland signed gicle print of the Joker, some Billy west signed Futurama pics and a Dredd picture Josh food for me when we first finished the cave off a few years ago.

Plan for the weekend is to sort out the Billy shelving display and clean them up.
Then the final wall is the projecter screen and family photos, may even put up a wedding photo there :P

Much like Banie I’m a big aviation lover. I’d happily get on a plane and fly somewhere for a few hours just for the flight part of it. Have been even lucky enough to fly on this a few times.

Unfortunately doesn’t look like I’ll be doing any travelling anytime soon.

@Time: Is that a Learjet 45?

Gorgeous! Sort of an Aston Martin for the skies.

I too love all things aviation, served my time as a mechanic on narrow bodies (DC-9/MD-80 series, 737, 757) back in the early to mid 90s.

Even now, I love nothing better than lining up on the end of a runway, or as close to the apron as you can get to see these majestic beasts as close as I can.

However, I am also driven to distraction by these:
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And these:

I love motor racing and have been to a couple of Formula 1 races, MotoGP, World Superbikes and BSB.

It is my fervent hope to get back to a trackday in Mondello before the end of this year.

Lorddrakul wrote: »

@Time: Is that a Learjet 45?

It's a 75 it's lovely to fly on, very very quite, good legroom and a nice bright spacious cabin. I've been on a Citation 525 a good few times which are quite loud and not half as smooth, plus they feel cramped after an hour or two. The Citation XLS is nice too, has a cabin you can stand up in fully but isn't as spacious as the 75.

Falcon 7x and Legacy 650 are the largest i've been on, but they're a different beast altogether.

Hoping to get to an F1 race myself when they start having spectators again. If you've recommendations for any in particular let me know.

Time wrote: »

It's a 75 it's lovely to fly on, very very quite, good legroom and a nice bright spacious cabin. I've been on a Citation 525 a good few times which are quite loud and not half as smooth, plus they feel cramped after an hour or two. The Citation XLS is nice too, has a cabin you can stand up in fully but isn't as spacious as the 75.

Falcon 7x and Legacy 650 are the largest i've been on, but they're a different beast altogether.

Hoping to get to an F1 race myself when they start having spectators again. If you've recommendations for any in particular let me know.

I've never flown in a private jet but I was aboard Learjet once, while working for a large German outfit.

Once in Shannon, myself and a mate were loaned out to a small outfit that did private jets. We were sent over to assess whether a windscreen scratch in a Boeing 727 could be polished out.

It belonged to the daughter of a sheik and it had been gifted to her for her 15th birthday. It came with its own guard and everything.

Every switch, dial bezel and knob in the cockpit was gold plated.

The main cabin had a suede roof lining from the tops of the windows across the ceiling and own the other side. There was a decent sized shower room that had a Connemara marble shower basin.

It was like nothing I had ever seen before.

Another time, I spent a few days as part of a crew stripping out the cabin of a brand spanking new 747-400. Another middle eastern potentate had bought it from a struggling airline. It had never carried a passenger. It was going back to Seattle to be fitted with a swimming pool whose cover would also serve as a dance floor.

Different strokes!

Lorddrakul wrote: »

It had never carried a passenger. It was going back to Seattle to be fitted with a swimming pool whose cover would also serve as a dance floor.

Different strokes!

Thats a whole other level of rich. I think i've seen pics of that 747 interior, the pool/dance floor is very familiar.

darragh o meara

Have always been interested in watches but up until a few years ago it was mainly G shocks and a few quirky watches “Swatch The Beep “ anyone?? Pretty much watches I couldn’t afford as a younger man. I got into automatics when I bought a Parnis from a fellow watch forums member and have been hooked since. I now have a few autos and prefer them over most in my collection.

Other than watches, Cars and machinery take up a lot of my time and working in engineering helps me feed that habit. Photography albeit amateur in manner also keeps me occupied. I recently got back into 3D printing and that’s another distraction. There are other hobbies that raid the bank account at times but the less said about that the better

fat bloke

Lorddrakul wrote: »

@Time: Is that a Learjet 45?

Gorgeous! Sort of an Aston Martin for the skies.

I too love all things aviation, served my time as a mechanic on narrow bodies (DC-9/MD-80 series, 737, 757) back in the early to mid 90s.

Even now, I love nothing better than lining up on the end of a runway, or as close to the apron as you can get to see these majestic beasts as close as I can.

However, I am also driven to distraction by these:

And these:

I love motor racing and have been to a couple of Formula 1 races, MotoGP, World Superbikes and BSB.

It is my fervent hope to get back to a trackday in Mondello before the end of this year.

What would you take around track? They're lovely bikes but not exactly Mondello material.

micks_address

Always had a bit of an obsession with AV. Tv audio etc. Always had pretty nice TVs and even have had them professionally calibrated. Last summer the kids playroom and half office got an overhaul. Covid boredom and I bought a 4K projector from adverts. 5.1 speakers and put it all together. Nothing quite like a 90 inch picture. Quality is awesome for a 800 euro projector onto a white wall. Was something like 1500 new and bulb had very little use. Ps5 and Xbox series x connected to it for the kids. Last month I picked up some nice stereo speakers from adverts and a new stereo amp for a bit of relaxed music listening. Even added a turntable last week even though I haven’t had vinyl for a few years. Slippery slope and unless you spend mad money will do well to beat lossless digital quality. So that’s where my spare watch money has been going lately. Oh and it’s my full time office now complete with standing electric desk and proper office chair.

fat bloke wrote: »

What would you take around track? They're lovely bikes but not exactly Mondello material.

The old VF was my main bike, but it is now an appreciating classic in my brother's burgeoning collection.

The SX will do track duties.

I'm reliably informed from an owner's forum that once you have decent quality brake fluid in them, they can easily win Inters

I've not been on track in about 4 years, so even though I used to hold my own in the middle of Inters on a ZXR750R K1, I'll go in Novice and find me way around again. Though I may turn the traction control down a bit.

fat bloke

Ah jeepers, you know what you're at so! I suppose modern bikes are so capable now, any one of them would be a bit of craic on track if you're not chasing laptimes.

So... what'll be on your wrist under the leathers then?

fat bloke wrote: »

Ah jeepers, you know what you're at so! I suppose modern bikes are so capable now, any one of them would be a bit of craic on track if you're not chasing laptimes.

So... what'll be on your wrist under the leathers then?

The mad thing is, the SX, as a sports tourer, actually has near identical geometry to the ZX-7R, it might even be
a little lighter.

So, it should be well able to turn in a decent lap time. Me however...

As for on the wrist? I generally go with my TAG F1 Pro chrono, as it gives me down to a tenth of a second. It is very light, very comfortable and fairly tough.

Homer

micks_address wrote: »

Always had a bit of an obsession with AV. Tv audio etc. Always had pretty nice TVs and even have had them professionally calibrated. Last summer the kids playroom and half office got an overhaul. Covid boredom and I bought a 4K projector from adverts. 5.1 speakers and put it all together. Nothing quite like a 90 inch picture. Quality is awesome for a 800 euro projector onto a white wall. Was something like 1500 new and bulb had very little use. Ps5 and Xbox series x connected to it for the kids. Last month I picked up some nice stereo speakers from adverts and a new stereo amp for a bit of relaxed music listening. Even added a turntable last week even though I haven’t had vinyl for a few years. Slippery slope and unless you spend mad money will do well to beat lossless digital quality. So that’s where my spare watch money has been going lately. Oh and it’s my full time office now complete with standing electric desk and proper office chair.

Similar to myself Mick. Lockdown version 2.0 I decided to do a decent home cinema room (it’s in a separate building to the main house) so went the full monty on it with a suspended ceiling, led lighting, 4K LED projector, 104” Elite screens fixed screen, 7.1 audio and two motorised recliners. All controlled with a Control 4 automation system. I’ll get some photos when I get a chance! Could have had a Daytona for what I’ve spent on it but I love it and it gets plenty of use so happy out! Had a background in AV so did most of the work myself.

Fitz II

Homer wrote: »

Similar to myself Mick. Lockdown version 2.0 I decided to do a decent home cinema room (it’s in a separate building to the main house) so went the full monty on it with a suspended ceiling, led lighting, 4K LED projector, 104” Elite screens fixed screen, 7.1 audio and two motorised recliners. All controlled with a Control 4 automation system. I’ll get some photos when I get a chance! Could have had a Daytona for what I’ve spent on it but I love it and it gets plenty of use so happy out! Had a background in AV so did most of the work myself.

Awesome....get some photos up ASAP, I love looking at these builds online, when the stupid kids move out I hope to convert they playroom to a awesome cinema. I missing going to the cinema

Thirdfox

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMaAAY8L_U9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link - a weekend well spent taking apart a 23 year old keyboard (it was German and so (un?)surprisingly clean) and giving it a proper deep clean with the ol' toothbrush.

Don't need quite as steady hands as when working on a movement - but just as satisfying when you put everything back together again

micks_address

Homer wrote: »

Similar to myself Mick. Lockdown version 2.0 I decided to do a decent home cinema room (it’s in a separate building to the main house) so went the full monty on it with a suspended ceiling, led lighting, 4K LED projector, 104” Elite screens fixed screen, 7.1 audio and two motorised recliners. All controlled with a Control 4 automation system. I’ll get some photos when I get a chance! Could have had a Daytona for what I’ve spent on it but I love it and it gets plenty of use so happy out! Had a background in AV so did most of the work myself.

Homer your setup sounds rolex where mine is probably more second hand speedy money.

Few pictures

forum picture upload

I’ve a rega rp1 turntable with performance pack ready to unbox for when my wife won’t notice

Homer

Heres the before.. ImgBB messed up the order!